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A unique biography that explores and celebrates the life of a musician as a passionate little girl.
Right from her childhood, Annapurna Devi, born as Roshanara Khan, had an ear for music. She found rhythm and melody in the most mundane sounds. She listened with wonder to the koel cooing and her grandmother snoring.
But when her father gave sarod lessons to her brother, Roshan was moved to make music of her own. How did Roshan embark on her musical journey?
Little Inni adopts the scruffy-looking Indie puppy Bobo, and finally, he is home! But Bobo
is still scared of everything-even the running water. Now it is all up to Inni, his new best
friend, to help him learn and adapt to the ways of his new life. And what better way to do
it than to head to out to the park on Sunday the Funday! After all, it’s the best place to
explore new things and even meet new people.
Endearing and narrated with a lot of heart, the Inni and Bobo Series, is not only about
a little child finding friendship but also about the beauty of adopting dogs. It’s about
learning empathy and imperative life lessons, and most importantly about opening one’s
heart and homes-which is what life is all about.
Jasbir has always wanted a pet, not a sibling. Then one day, a buffalo walks into his life and does not want to leave . . .
About the Hook Book Series
In a world where children’s books often feel cut from the same cloth, Hook Books stand out as a vibrant blend of imagination, humour, and heart. Crafted as a bridge between picture books and early chapter books, this series delivers stories that spark joy and wonder, while remaining rooted in age-appropriate learning.
Hook Books keep the fun going with:
From fantasy tales to those that touch on more advanced ideas, Hook Books ensure that young readers are always in for a treat, no matter their reading level. Even better, these books take children on journeys through different parts of India, giving them a taste of the rich diversity of our world through local flavours, landscapes, and cultures. Whether the story takes place in bustling cities or quiet villages, Hook Books make every setting feel like home.
Curious and spirited, Sharadha loves living life in her ancestral tharavadu. The grand ol’ house, Vishwasam, is right in the heart of her beloved Marayur, in the Chera kingdom. The house is also the centre of activities as Devaki Amma, her grandmother, is a healer for the King no less! Life is good in the sleepy village!
But her inquisitiveness takes Sharadha on an unintended adventure. Trying to investigate a secret, she chances upon a mysterious trader and ends up in the bustling city of Mahodayapuram. And it’s not just any city but the busy multicultural melting pot of the Cheraman Perumal Empire!
As she traverses the metropolis, Sharadha gets pulled into the magical colours, languages, religions, and the vibrancy of the city. She now realizes how complex the Capital is from her small village life-full of intrigue and political scandals. But as a sudden war with the ambitious and powerful Chola Dynasty looms on the horizon, Sharadha pines to get back to her old quiet life in Marayur.
Will she ever be able to see her beloved Vishwasam again?
Can she use the wisdom taught by her grandmother to save the others and herself?
Peek into an account of what life was like during the final years of the Chera Dynasty of the eleventh century Kerala!
The year is 1943 in British India . . .
Kayal is a 16-year-old freedom fighter who takes part in marches, burns British goods and sabotages trains-all without the knowledge of her law-abiding family. So, it comes as quite a surprise when Kayal discovers that her aunt Uma is a soldier in the Azad Hind Fauj, the all-volunteer Indian National Army from Southeast Asia led by Subhas Chandra Bose, which aims to free India!
By what Kayal considers a huge stroke of luck, Uma agrees to take her along to a recruitment camp in Burma. Suddenly, the war, which had once seemed a distant thrill, now becomes a horrific reality.
Packed with adventures of teenagers as they join military boot camps, and set off on the most exciting journey of their lives, The Vanguards of Azad Hind is an ode to the Azad Hind Fauj and its women’s unit, the Rani of Jhansi regiment, whose soldiers proved to be trailblazers with their feisty passion to fight for India’s freedom.
Tanjore, 1942
There are few excitements in Thambi’s quiet life. There is the new hotel, disapproved of by elders, which lures him with the aroma of sambar with onions. There are visits to the library to read the newspaper, and once in a while, a new movie at the Rajaram Electric Theatre. More disagreeably, there are fortnightly visits from his uncle to lay down the law.
When Gandhiji announces the Quit India movement, Tanjore is torn apart by protests. The train station-the lifeline of the town-is vandalized. Mysterious leaflets are circulated, containing news that newspapers do not publish. And inspired by the idea of a free India and his own dreams of being an engineer, Thambi must find the courage to do what he believes is right-even when it endangers all he holds dear.
The Songs of Freedom series explores the lives of children across India during the struggle for independence.
Calcutta, 1928
As the student protests gather momentum all across Calcutta, and police atrocities grow, ten-year-old Bithi wants to join in the struggle for freedom.
But living in a society where her best friend is to be married and just the fact that she is going to school is regarded with disapproval, how can Bithi play a substantial part? How can she fight those who are dearest to her? Discouraged but not daunted, Bithi schemes and plots and lies and is drawn into unexpected danger-all for the sake of fighting injustice in all its forms.
The Songs of Freedom series explores the lives of children across India during the struggle for independence.
The series complements school textbooks about the independence movement. As the stories are told from a child’s point of view, these stories bring the facts of the independence movement to vivid life in settings all over the country—and inspire each reader to engage with the idea of India.
At the time of Independence, few believed that a country made up of British provinces and over 500 princely states could survive as a nation, even for a few years. That a land stripped of its riches, wracked by disease and famine, and divided along tense communal lines could thrive in its aspirations. Yet, in the 75 years since Independence, India has grown beyond anyone’s expectation.
How did India get this far? What were the sweeping social, political, scientific, technological, military, environmental and economic developments it witnessed along the way? Interspersed with personal anecdotes, illustrations, infographics, informative timelines and quotes, After Midnight revels in the diverse ideas that have come to shape India and offers a multifaceted context to the present. In many ways, this is one of the greatest underdog-beating-the-odds stories in world history, full of blood, sweat, tragedy and triumph.
We all love the sweetness of mango and how it quenches our thirst on a hot summer day, but have you ever wondered how the mango got its magical sweetness?
The tale of how such sweetness came into existence is a fascinating one indeed. India’s favourite storyteller brings alive this delightlful tale with her inimitable wit and simplicity. Bursting with captivating illustrations, this gorgeous chapter book is the ideal introduction for beginners to the world of Sudha Murty.
Madhu is a shy middle-grade developer who spends her holidays creating her dream app, ‘School Santhe’. Soon, the app goes viral…and so does she! And why not? After all, an app where everyone at school can trade stuff is the app they’ve all been waiting for! Madhu now sets her sights on winning the GoTek young developers contest.
But when School Santhe is used to sell leaked test papers, she’s faced with the hardest decision of her life:
a) Shut down the app that made her popular?
b) Or stay silent and become part of something…criminal?
As her dreams begin to crumble – with the entire school now blaming her for the mess her app has caused – Madhu realizes that sometimes, it’s far easier to debug an app than it is to debug your life!
